Antigua and Barbuda in 2005

The new United Progressive Party (UPP) government in Antigua and Barbuda overturned one of its predecessor’s key policies in April 2005 when it restored personal income tax, which would be paid by individuals earning at least EC$3,000 (about U.S.$1,110) a month. Also in April former prime minister Lester Bird, who lost his seat in the election, was nevertheless voted back as leader of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP), which had governed for 28 straight years before being deposed in 2004 by the UPP. Though he faced strong competition from a former planning minister, Gaston Browne, Bird prevailed. His elder brother, however, Vere Bird, Jr., lost his bid for party chairman.

Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer said in May that he would create a special task force to curb organized crime and corruption by government officials; he blamed inaction by past ALP administrations for the upsurge in such problems.

Venezuela deepened its relations with Antigua and Barbuda in August as part of a wider initiative by Pres. Hugo Chávez to assist Caribbean territories that were hard hit by rising inflation and foreign-exchange shortages largely caused by high oil prices. Besides soft loans for oil purchases, Antigua and Barbuda also received Venezuelan assistance for its outage-plagued electricity system.